Is MechWarrior Online robot-stomping fun? Ars OpenForum decides

The long-running thread is a gold mine of information for fans of this MMO.

MechWarrior Online is currently in open beta, and that means that users who love first-person shooter MMOs with a heavy dose of sci-fi can check it out to see if it’s a good fit. MechWarrior works on a simple premise: just like the characters in films like RobotJox and Aliens, in MWO you suit up in giant mechanical body armor that weighs anywhere from 20 to 100 tons. You then proceed to beat other mechs to rubble. Playing the beta is free, but if you’re concerned about whether the game is worth your time, the Ars OpenForum has already been dishing out opinions on MechWarrior's merits.

The thread “Mechwarrior Online: Open Beta now with Stalkers and Double Dragons,” has been discussing the game since Halloween of 2011, and that means it’s a big thread with more than 4,700 posts. As you can see from the discussion, the MechWarrior franchise has a dedicated following of fans going all the way back to its earlier incarnations: MechWarriors 1 through 4. MWO’s game mechanics have built up anticipation for fans of the series: now players can work in teams of 8 players online. As they beat other mechs, they can earn C-Bill currency and purchase mechs and gear. And as is to be expected from an MMO-style game, players can chat inside the game and communicate via voice as they go on their missions.

The OpenForum reveals some important elements of the game that may help you decide if you want to invest some time playing inside its environment.

Initial reactions

Playing a game in beta will always include some bugs and kinks to be worked out, but in the latter half of 2012 circuitloss shared positive initial reactions to the game. “Just grabbed this when the Open Beta went live. This game is really awesome. It feels like playing Counterstrike in slow-motion, with tanks, which isn't a bad thing.”

MWO is free to play, but users have to pay for certain upgrades. Cobaltplasmacomments, “I never got into F2P games too much, I skipped World of Tanks, but this is something that has just the right hook for me. I purchased a Founders package and the Wang and have no regrets, and scarily I'm looking forward to see what else they're going to release, if there's anything that makes me want to blow cash on it like the Wang; I highly disliked the Centurion during closed beta, the entire medium line just wasn't for me, but I really liked the Yen-Lo and bought it the day it was released. If they add more things that appeal to me like that then I can see, for myself, supporting this game for a while that way.”

Delornotes that “the visual design and the sound design are two things this game does very well, IMHO,” while donlosays, “The interface is OMG huh? I never did find a way to see where you buy better mechs from as the store tab was greyed out. And when I closed it for the night the window went black and I had to kill it from the task manager. Stomping around in big mechs going PEW PEW is fun, too bad my only tactic of 'full speed reverse and fire' didn't work out too well. Not sure if I'll have enough spare time to really learn this right, plus it's going to mess with all the muscle memory I've been building up in World Of Tanks. Don't care, I've been waiting so long for a new MechWarrior game I'll play it even if I'm only slightly more useful than a rock.”

Piranha Games communicates with users about new mechs, patches, and upgrades through its website, and using the Ars OpenForum alongside their updates can make the gaming experience a lot smoother. In the Ars thread you'll find reactions and hands-on experiences with previous expansions and patches, as well as some issues with hardware for MWO.

Gear up your mech

Choosing the right mech and outfitting it with the right gear is keeping users busy, and you’ll find the OpenForum has as lot of suggestions on what works best. If you have enough C-Bills, you can even ask for advice on what to buy, like CPXdid: “Well, got enough C-bills gathered together for 'My First Mech' in everything light and medium except that stock 8 mil Centurion. Kinda wondering what to use my cash on. I had better luck with the Lights in trial, and I didn't bother with the Dragon trial because the weapons loadout looked kinda icky (weaker than the Centurion trial?). For light, I was considering Raven or Jenner. Medium I was leaning toward Hunchback. Or forsake all those together and just slog through it to get the Catapult that comes with 2 LRM-15s and 4 MED Lasers. Any suggestions from the Hivemind?”

There are both free and paid mechs. How does playing for free work? Arsinius Mtouched on this topic: “Okay so I finally caved and am trying the free mechs. Not bad. Is it normal to get 400k per match even when your team loses, or is that a lure for you to start paying and once you level up or whatever it slows down?”

MechWarrior Online features more than 12 mechs that users can play, and the weaponry and ammo that corresponds to each one can provide a lot of incentive for players to stay in the game. The thread goes into great detail about what works, what doesn’t, and what gear offers the most value for your C-Bills.

If you’re wondering how to find Ars readers in the game, Pontposts a simple how-to: “1) install teamspeak if you haven't already. 2) connect to ts.arsclan.net and join the MechWarrior Online channel. 3) say "hi" if there are other people 4) roll the pubbies in an Ars group. You'll never look back.”

If you’re new to the game there’s most likely plenty to keep you entertained, but for coldwave007 it’s time to step back. “I'm probably going to take a break from MWO for a bit. Just not having that much fun right now, and honestly the game is getting a bit stale for me. New Maps and real game modes would help IMMENSELY, since the last two maps were just re-skins (although frozen night is quite nice,) and the conquest mode is just poor.”

If you're already engaged in the world of MechWarrior Online, the OpenForum is a place where you can get some of your questions answered, but you may also find new friendships and teammates to add to your game time. Nathan a says, “My mech hurts. Also, I <3 you guys.￼”

What’s your take on playing games when they’re in beta? Is it worth it, or do you like to wait for the final release? And what’s been your best combo of mech and gear to make for great gameplay? Register for an account to participate in the discussion, or share your thoughts in the comments below.

Promoted Comments

It can get pretty stale, however that is very much a result of the Beta status, a lot of people are under the impression "this is it" when it comes to game modes, not realising that the entire "meta-verse" aspect is a long way down the line (which will be one of the big pulls).

For now they are focused purely on getting content in, and balance (somewhat) correct, all that requires is a whole lot of repetitious combat.

Definitely one to keep an eye on in the coming year.

13 posts | registered Apr 19, 2009

Cesar Torres
Cesar is the Social Editor at Ars Technica. His areas of expertise are in online communities, human-computer interaction, usability, and e-reader technology. Cesar lives in New York City. Emailcesar.torres@arstechnica.com//Twitter@Urraca

88 Reader Comments

I am a huge MechWarrior fan. I played MechWarrior 2 mercilessly and even came up with a very unstable hack to get Ghost Bear expansion mechs playable online. I spent countless hours skipping high school math to play MW2 online. I played Battletech tabletop and read probably 20+ novels in the universe.

I got in the closed beta, played a few times, became MASSIVELY frustrated with the controls. I bought a joystick and found it even MORE difficult. The controls just don't feel smooth like previous MechWarrior games or at least did not 6+ months ago. Have the controls been improved? Is it worth logging back in?

I am a huge MechWarrior fan. I played MechWarrior 2 mercilessly and even came up with a very unstable hack to get Ghost Bear expansion mechs playable online. I spent countless hours skipping high school math to play MW2 online. I played Battletech tabletop and read probably 20+ novels in the universe.

I got in the closed beta, played a few times, became MASSIVELY frustrated with the controls. I bought a joystick and found it even MORE difficult. The controls just don't feel smooth like previous MechWarrior games or at least did not 6+ months ago. Have the controls been improved? Is it worth logging back in?

I feel that the controls are fantastic. I use a keyboard and mouse and many weapon groups. I have been actively playing since the Closed Beta (can we tell people that now??) and I believe that they have made massive strides in controls, feel, gameplay and overall gratification of multiton 'mech on 'mech battles.

I find the game immensely fun. I don't see it as a Pay-To-Win, but I will acknowledge that once you taste the C-Bill and XP benefits of having a premium account and a Hero 'Mech it's hard to not see a difference.

The removal of Repair-Rearm really leveled out the C-Bill cost to play. There are still many balances that will need to be put in place for the game to have staying power, but when it comes to 'Mech based gameplay, MWO is my #1 recommendation.

I gave up following game betas long ago. Following a game in development for a year or two only to see it released unfinished and disappear from gamers' radar in two or three months? I've got better things to do with my time.

I'm saddened by the fact that it's a PvP-game. I liked the Mechwarrior - games of old and I would like a modern take on the franchise, but meh

Oh, and they really need some professional to work on their website. That thing is horrendous.

This has been my big concern - the fact that it's all PvP. I'm a casual MW fan (didn't get into it until MW4 and its expansions, but thought they were good fun.) But I'm not an expert at mech games, and I'm not an expert at FPS games, so I'm worried that I'll mostly just serve as a convenient target for better players. And there's more pleasurable ways for me to spend an evening than getting blown up lots.Plus, I have a backlog of games I got over the holidays that I need to start on.

I gave up following game betas long ago. Following a game in development for a year or two only to see it released unfinished and disappear from gamers' radar in two or three months? I've got better things to do with my time.

Diablo 3 did that for me. When I think about how much time I spent following that game during development and then playing Act 1 during the beta over and over and over and over only to have it released in such a sorry state, it makes me feel a bit sheepish.

Massive thumbs up to Ars for mentioning a film I enjoyed during my ill-spent youth, Robot Jox. I suspect without my Childhood Nostalgia Glasses it'd actually suck horribly but I'm not about to ruin my childhood memories finding out

It can get pretty stale, however that is very much a result of the Beta status, a lot of people are under the impression "this is it" when it comes to game modes, not realising that the entire "meta-verse" aspect is a long way down the line (which will be one of the big pulls).

For now they are focused purely on getting content in, and balance (somewhat) correct, all that requires is a whole lot of repetitious combat.

so I'm worried that I'll mostly just serve as a convenient target for better players..

At the moment, the matchmaker will indeed cause you to be punished. I have 840 matches played plus a mastered mech line and an elite mech line yet only win 69% of the time. That has gone down in the past few weeks due to various problems with the game atm. The next matchmaking version is being worked on though so hopefully that is released sometime soon (it is a top priority for them).

However, I have no experience with premade groups, though for a beginner don't know how that would work out [anyway].

The other problem, is that unless you buy your way into a great mech, then you'd have to earn it. The trial mechs and the stock mechs are soooo horrible that you will go down much faster and do much less as well.

And then there are a host of other gameplay problems... Its not the best time for beginners, yet there are tons of them playing anyway. The sooner the matchmaker update is released the better (if it actually works as intended). That way beginners would [hopefully] play beginners and so on.

WereCatf wrote:

I'm saddened by the fact that it's a PvP-game. I liked the Mechwarrior - games of old and I would like a modern take on the franchise, but meh

Same here. MWO holds no candle to MW2 gameplay and atmosphere - they did use the same voice actor though so that's something.

I'm saddened by the fact that it's a PvP-game. I liked the Mechwarrior - games of old and I would like a modern take on the franchise, but meh

Oh, and they really need some professional to work on their website. That thing is horrendous.

This has been my big concern - the fact that it's all PvP. I'm a casual MW fan (didn't get into it until MW4 and its expansions, but thought they were good fun.) But I'm not an expert at mech games, and I'm not an expert at FPS games, so I'm worried that I'll mostly just serve as a convenient target for better players. And there's more pleasurable ways for me to spend an evening than getting blown up lots.Plus, I have a backlog of games I got over the holidays that I need to start on.

This. I have basically walked away from online gaming because of the incredible mismatch that occurs and F2P just makes it worse. So, as much as I love MechWarrior, I will not be making any investment in unless they can truly balance the gameplay.

I played about 2 games yesterday... I don't think I'll be able to get into this game:1) It's hard. (I'll split this beneath)2) There's no real continuity/point. While 8v8 team battles is ok, I'm really missing the lack of a tutorial or vs computer/training grounds. The previous Sony MW online game had factions competing (players divided into 3 or 4 groups and fighting for territory), this has nothing of the sort. Just random FFA battles... bleh3) It's unforgiving. - You are dependent on your mech config, which might suck and put you at a disadvantage - You have the teams, with no real difficulty/ranking so you never know who you're facing or who you'll be teamed up with - You have the controls, mechs are hard to control, from torso weapons which fires independently from arm weapons, to multi weapon groups, really hard...4) You have a steep learning curve, learning every weapon/mech/config, wow... And this is made much worse given the lack of training/single player/lack of leagues/difficulty level, etc...5) lack of game creation options, why no 1v1, 2v2 or 3v3, etc... 8v8 is chaos, it's not really fit for learning...6) So much time/money dependent... Need $ for mechs/gear, requires $$$ or time... And the investment in time/money gives you rewards as benefits in the game. Non-dependant on skill level, your mech will be stronger than the trial mechs... So noobs are at a disadvantage from the get go, not to mention that noobs will suck at the game compared to those who've played it a lot, but making things worst is that they'll have significantly worse mechs...

Basically, this game is a noob shredder. Reading the Ars thead, experienced players will likely have experienced friends, meaning they'll join games as teams, they'll likely be put against other random teams with noobs (Take 8 players teams. Say 5 good players team up, they'll have 3 possible noobs in their team, vs a team of 8 possible noobs...), and given that the step is so large for a noob to get to geared up skilled player, meh ....

I guess I'm not just a fan of such team dependent games... Yeah I guess you can team up and then roflstomp noobs, but I don't know, I'm just not getting the incentive to play this MW game like I did the previous one... [edit]And I'm going a bit mad being unable to find it!!! Does anybody remember the name of the last pay to play online MW game? The last MW online game that basically went to beta, was fully payable, hmm, playable too, and went under soon afterwards?[/edit]

What this game made me is nostalgic for the MW Mercenaries PC games. Playing these games, upgrading and purchasing mechs, gave you a sense of power and achievement... Fought in the arena, got $$$, improved mechs, that was really cool. I'm not just getting any such coolness in MW Online... Even the last MW online, you started with small mechs and fought for XP/$ to purchase larger mechs, and when you saw a bigger mech, people went wow! One day I'll have one of those! And you fought and stumbled to get $$, XP, and move up the Mech ladder... And since most folk were in the same boat, I don't know, was just great, bigger mechs were rare and just super cool... A thing to strive for.

The way it worked, as I was saying, you were fighting for territory. In the outskirts of territories, you could only use light mechs I think, or were limited per lance by tonnage. And as you got further into enemy territory, you were allowed to use bigger mechs. And people were fighting for territory. So you had a point to play, a goal to achieve; Fight the enemy factions, gain $$$, get better mechs, it was amazing... You could choose where to fight, what to fight...

Here, nothing of that... It's just... chaos. Random pointless matches... The matches again seem just pure randomness/chaos, the mechs seem to have lost their uniqueness or wow factor... I don't know, I'm just... Disappointed I guess...

Another thing, in the previous MW Online, I don't think Mechs were configurable. Ok, I can see limitations there. But again, it gave a chance for noobs to learn. Oh a catapult will have long range missiles but a big easy to hit Torso. This other will have lasers but be tough but with a weak head, etc. It was noob friendly. When it's 8v8, and there's 50 variants of 12 mechs, noobs won't get to learn anything on the battlefield, there's no time, it's chaos, and then you're dead... Not only do you have to learn the mechs, you have to learn to identify their configuration/armor/weakness, etc., just too damn hard in 8v8 chaos.

You can't even see you matches history I think, so if you quit the game before it's over, you can't even see how you did, same for if the game ends, you go get a glass of watever, and ah sorry you missed the scores and now they're gone forever...

I don't know... Sad to say, but I don't think this game is too good... Sad because I'd have loved to play a new MW game

And another thing that was cool, as I was saying, people basically had the same mechs, so if you were in a medium, the skilled player on the other team also had a medium, and if he had the same Mech, he had no advantage over you. If he had a different mech, ok, but it was basically the same tonnage and more or less equivalent... Anyhow, MWOnline, noobs suck, noobs in horrendous chassis suck even more, noobs in random teams vs teams of skilled players with good mechs suck even more ... I just... I don't know... Horrible... I can't believe they can do so much worse than the last MW online game...

As stated, it's a beta, lacking lots of content and a missing over-arching gameplay mode. All of which will be added over time. When you want to make a game, you have to start somewhere....basic mechs, a gameplay mode and a handful of maps are how you do that, ensuring things work before you start implementing the big stuff.

Add another name to the list of folks who are disappointed that it's just PvP and that it it is so noob unfriendly. I've been a fan if the Battletech universe for over 20 years, and have always enjoyed the MW games. However, as someone who just doesn't have the time to game a lot, I'm pretty much out of luck on this one. Getting stomped into oblivion isn't an enjoyable use of my limited gaming time, no matter how much I like Battletech.

As stated, it's a beta, lacking lots of content and a missing over-arching gameplay mode. All of which will be added over time. When you want to make a game, you have to start somewhere....basic mechs, a gameplay mode and a handful of maps are how you do that, ensuring things work before you start implementing the big stuff.

Ah ok then, cool! I guess it'll be worth revisiting later! Is there a list of the features they are planning to add for the final version?

I am an old MW fan. Played every variant there was. The only game series I've spent more time on is Tribes. So, I was dying to try MWO.

Sadly, not impressed. MW2 and a CH joystick were nirvana. This iteration is a mess with a stick. Some of my friends are having success with mouse / keyboard but that destroys the game for me. If I were really driving a mech, wouldn't my controls be a stick and throttle?

As for F2P and betas, I'm currently playing a ton of World Of Tanks and World Of Warplanes. Awaiting the Battleship beta now. The end result is supposed to be a massive world to play in. Right now, the strategy, physics, team play and matchmaking are pretty darn good. MWO could take lessons. All of my group tried MWO, but largely ignore it in favor of 'Tanks and Planes ! !'

P.S., the new Tribes beta is pretty good as well. Noobs may suffer, though not as much as in MWO.

MWO has stolen everything from MW:LL but did nearly everything worse. Its just a big dumb down from a free mod to a pay to win.MW:LL has Tanks, ASF, VTOLs, Infantry, Artillery. Plus a huge load of Mechs to use.MWO has... 12 Mechs...MW:LL has a buckload of playmodes that are actually fun and need teamworkMWO has glorified team deathmatches.

Except for the engine MWO is just plan WORSE than MW:LL. And it was released by a professional team who earns money with it. So how the hell can a game come out later than another one, have professional designers and still end up worse?

As stated, it's a beta, lacking lots of content and a missing over-arching gameplay mode. All of which will be added over time. When you want to make a game, you have to start somewhere....basic mechs, a gameplay mode and a handful of maps are how you do that, ensuring things work before you start implementing the big stuff.

Ah ok then, cool! I guess it'll be worth revisiting later! Is there a list of the features they are planning to add for the final version?

I was very excited for this game as I played MW 1-4, replayed MW4 and Mercs about 5 times over the years to get my fix. Then I tried MWO.

It was fun at first, especially with friends, which is almost necessary unless you like getting stomped all the time, but it got really stale really fast. It's more like a single player game where they slapped together a few maps and called it good for multi-player, except without a good single-player mode. I was expecting some epic growth where clans own bases and dropships, invade other clan-owned planets, jockey for positioning around the galaxy etc. You'd start the game as a Merc just trying to make a buck, but may be able to build your own unit and eventually even carve out territory. This game, as it is now, is woefully lacking in any real depth that the Mechwarrior franchise screams for.

*edit* and now that the above post is there, it gives me some hope for the game in the future. I'll have to check it out again when it goes gold, whenever that is.

As stated, it's a beta, lacking lots of content and a missing over-arching gameplay mode. All of which will be added over time. When you want to make a game, you have to start somewhere....basic mechs, a gameplay mode and a handful of maps are how you do that, ensuring things work before you start implementing the big stuff.

Honestly, they made a real mistake going open beta without even a mediocre match making system. Something as simple as only pitting trial mechs against other trial mechs would be a huge improvement. Open beta is like a soft launch, especially since they're already involving real-money purchases, and people will try it, judge it, and toss it away if it's not even close to the final product.

I feel that the controls are fantastic. I use a keyboard and mouse and many weapon groups. I have been actively playing since the Closed Beta (can we tell people that now??) and I believe that they have made massive strides in controls, feel, gameplay and overall gratification of multiton 'mech on 'mech battles.

The controls are the reason I stopped playing.

Mechs are essentially humanoids similar to humans (walk/run forwards/back, twist head/torso relative to feet) and over the years we've seen evolve what is essentially an industry wide default control scheme for controlling humans in a first person perspective: forward, back, strafe left/right at 90deg, a combination moves you ar 45deg, mouse look.

I know there are so-called "sim" fans (I use inverted commas because I'm actually a sim fan myself) who are less interested in ease of control than in "feel" (personally I think that's beyond insane, but each to their own) but there could at least have been an OPTION to use standard fps controls.I hate having to control torso rotation with the "strafe" keys. I know the slow rotation compared to a human head makes a difference, but just give me 45 and 90 deg directions - that's more than enough for me, and would hugely ease the path of new players into the game (who no doubt all play fps).

For me, not having to think about the controls, or learn a new control scheme, would increase immersion, not decrease it.

I gave up following game betas long ago. Following a game in development for a year or two only to see it released unfinished and disappear from gamers' radar in two or three months? I've got better things to do with my time.

Diablo 3 did that for me. When I think about how much time I spent following that game during development and then playing Act 1 during the beta over and over and over and over only to have it released in such a sorry state, it makes me feel a bit sheepish.

You can add the Crysis series to that. The online Star Trek and Star Wars games. And many (most?) big budget titles of the past few (many?) years. I find it easier to have fun playing indie games (SPAZ, Jets'n Guns, Trine) or even flash games that can be played for free.

Mechs are essentially humanoids similar to humans (walk/run forwards/back, twist head/torso relative to feet) and over the years we've seen evolve what is essentially an industry wide default control scheme for controlling humans in a first person perspective: forward, back, strafe left/right at 90deg, a combination moves you ar 45deg, mouse look.

I know there are so-called "sim" fans (I use inverted commas because I'm actually a sim fan myself) who are less interested in ease of control than in "feel" (personally I think that's beyond insane, but each to their own) but there could at least have been an OPTION to use standard fps controls.I hate having to control torso rotation with the "strafe" keys. I know the slow rotation compared to a human head makes a difference, but just give me 45 and 90 deg directions - that's more than enough for me, and would hugely ease the path of new players into the game (who no doubt all play fps).

For me, not having to think about the controls, or learn a new control scheme, would increase immersion, not decrease it.

The controls are the reason I stopped playing [FPSs].

Humans are essentially humanoids similar to mechs (walk/run forwards/back, twist head/torso relative to feet) and over the years we've seen evolve what is essentially an industry wide default control scheme for controlling mechs in a first person perspective: forward, reverse, stear left/right, torso twist, mouse aim ... and would hugely ease the path of new players into the [FPS] game (who no doubt all play mech sims).

For me, not having to think about the controls, or learn a new control scheme, would increase immersion, not decrease it.

Humans are essentially humanoids similar to mechs (walk/run forwards/back, twist head/torso relative to feet) and over the years we've seen evolve what is essentially an industry wide default control scheme for controlling mechs in a first person perspective: forward, reverse, stear left/right, torso twist, mouse aim ... and would hugely ease the path of new players into the [FPS] game (who no doubt all play mech sims).

For me, not having to think about the controls, or learn a new control scheme, would increase immersion, not decrease it.

The control scheme actually better emulates a mech, IMO. You have to throttle up/down, and can move the torso independently of the legs. It takes some getting used to, but I got into it after a few matches.

Mind, I haven't played in a couple months. The beta was just too slow on my comp. Might try again later in the week.

This has been my big concern - the fact that it's all PvP. I'm a casual MW fan (didn't get into it until MW4 and its expansions, but thought they were good fun.) But I'm not an expert at mech games, and I'm not an expert at FPS games, so I'm worried that I'll mostly just serve as a convenient target for better players. And there's more pleasurable ways for me to spend an evening than getting blown up lots.

That's any game, though. The only difference between this, and watching Mario fall into a pit for the umpteenth time, is there are live people on the other end. There's always a learning curve, and you'll always start out as a target bumbling about.

Quote:

Plus, I have a backlog of games I got over the holidays that I need to start on.

Humans are essentially humanoids similar to mechs (walk/run forwards/back, twist head/torso relative to feet) and over the years we've seen evolve what is essentially an industry wide default control scheme for controlling mechs in a first person perspective: forward, reverse, stear left/right, torso twist, mouse aim ... and would hugely ease the path of new players into the [FPS] game (who no doubt all play mech sims).

For me, not having to think about the controls, or learn a new control scheme, would increase immersion, not decrease it.

The control scheme actually better emulates a mech, IMO. You have to throttle up/down, and can move the torso independently of the legs. It takes some getting used to, but I got into it after a few matches.

Mind, I haven't played in a couple months. The beta was just too slow on my comp. Might try again later in the week.

Why are you agreeing with me? Go back and re-read, my comment was a spoof on visbis444's.

I last played with MW2 and miss the joystick controls and single player campaign. MWO is ok but it suffers from netcode, bugs, and a lack of content. There are game balance issues as well but that is to be expected considering you can pilot a Spider or an Atlas.

I didn't know ars had a teamspeak server, I hope to drop with some Ars'ians this weekend which is 2 x XP weekend. I haven't spent any money yet, but if you want extra mech bays you need to drop a couple of bucks per bay. Not the worst F2P thing although grinding for in game currency is a bit of a pain.

So as someone who hasn't played MWO, I have a question. As a newb, when I log in for the first time I get a light mech I expect? What happens after I get stomped? Do I get free repairs? Is there some time penalty until I can play again? I just wonder how game play is on the free side. Thanks for the info.

This has been my big concern - the fact that it's all PvP. I'm a casual MW fan (didn't get into it until MW4 and its expansions, but thought they were good fun.) But I'm not an expert at mech games, and I'm not an expert at FPS games, so I'm worried that I'll mostly just serve as a convenient target for better players. And there's more pleasurable ways for me to spend an evening than getting blown up lots.

That's any game, though. The only difference between this, and watching Mario fall into a pit for the umpteenth time, is there are live people on the other end. There's always a learning curve, and you'll always start out as a target bumbling about.

The difference is that the pit won't actively try to make me fall into it, and if I have some level of skill (easily gained with practice), I can expect to eventually succeed. MWO, from what I gather here, has a steeper learning curve, so it'll be harder to obtain that level of skill. And even if I got reasonably skilled, I'd expect my opponents to be similarly skilled so the best case is I win ~50% of the time. That's a lot more failure than I care for in my free time. And that's if I was very good - if I was just mediocre, and unlucky with matchmaking, I might play for a week without a win.I see the appeal - the thrill of victory over real opponents is bigger than beating AI opponents - but I don't have the patience to put up with the frequent failure and rejection in hopes that I'll do better next time.

So as someone who hasn't played MWO, I have a question. As a newb, when I log in for the first time I get a light mech I expect?

At all times there are 4 "trial" mechs that everyone can play. It's always 1 light, 1 medium, 1 heavy, 1 assault (the heaviest). These aren't "gimped" versions in any way. but you can't customize the loadout like you can with your own mechs (swap a light laser for a medium pulse laser, etc).

I'd recommend staring with a medium, or maybe heavy at first (you can choose which you use every match). Both the extremes tend to be harder to play as they're "min/max"ing; the light mechs move extremely fast, but they're also made of paper. If you don't stay on the move and stay out of the line of fire, it's much easier to get blown to bits.

Similarly, Assaults are walking piles of weapons, but that also makes them priority targets. If you walk out into the wrong spot, you'll find yourself swarmed by enemies and lacking the speed to get away.

Medium & heavy provide a decent balance between speed to move around, but enough armor to take some hits.

----------I believe the 4 trial mechs change weekly? Once you play some and get some CBills, you can buy your own chassis and customize it, there will still always be the 4 trials available to play with if you want to try something new for a little while.

TechGeek wrote:

What happens after I get stomped? Do I get free repairs?

No costs post-game. There used to be repairing & restocking ammo earlier in the beta, but it's been removed. Each match is 100% profit (and you do get a base amount for losses).

TechGeek wrote:

Is there some time penalty until I can play again?

Nope, play as much as you want whenever you want. No limits. This is one of the reasons I'm a fan, I look forward to more F2P games moving away from the "energy" model.

TechGeek wrote:

I just wonder how game play is on the free side.

Playing gives you CBills, which lets you buy mech chassis & weapons/armor customizing. All mechs come with a full loadout, but you can customize it or upgrade. Paying cash gives you "MC", which can be used instead of CBills when buying mechs/equipment, and some of the specific variations of mechs can only be bought with MC, but they're not overpowered. When playing I don't fear an enemy in an MC-version any more than other mechs.

You have space for 4 mechs in your bay and 5th slot costs 300 MC ($.80 - $1.25 depending on how much MC you buy at once). Honestly, when I get the the point that I own 4 of my own mechs and need more space (at 3 right now), I'll have absolutely no qualms throwing a few bucks their way.